Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in your life

Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in your life and we want to support you to have a positive birth experience. Birth can be incredibly fulfilling and empowering but is also unpredictable and the unknown can be quite scary for some women and parents to be. Our role is to provide care, advise and help you where required to ensure you feel informed, supported and able to make your own decisions about your pregnancy and birth journey.

 

The Stages of Labour

Most women go into labour from about 37 week’s gestation onwards. This is considered to be full term where the baby is well grown and able to cope well with life outside the womb. Labour is different for every women and every baby they have, so most women feel it is useful to be aware of all of the possible things that

may happen and how they may feel and adapt. The very early stage of labour is called the ‘latent’ phase and this is when your body and baby is preparing for labour. This stage can go on for a few hours or many days and we do advise that it is better to be at home, where you can relax, rest and mobilise in comfort.

After this you will go into active labour where the contractions are strong and regular and your cervix (the neck of the womb) will open to 10cm dilated. Your labour will progress at a rate that is individual to you, sometimes your contractions may slow and sometimes they may be strong and intense. Your body will be working hard but also telling you lots of information, so we encourage you to listen to your body and your baby and respond instinctively to what feel right. If you have any concerns about yourself or your baby then please do tell a midwife.

The next part of labour is moving into the second or ‘pushing’ stage. Many women have a slight slowing down of contractions as they transition from the first to the second stage of labour. Some women have a rest during this stage but others feel anxious and restless. Most women will have a spontaneous urge to push or bear down and if all is well we encourage you to listen to your body and follow what it is telling you. During the second stage the baby is moving down through your birth canal but also has to twist and turn to make its way through. You can help the baby by moving around and trying different and upright positions. Your muscles and tissues will stretch to allow the baby to come down and be born and some of this can be helped by perineal massage which is carried out from 34 weeks of pregnancy (see our page on perineal massage); the use of a warm pad in the ‘pushing stage’ of labour (supplied by your midwife) can also help with the stretching at birth.

 

Your waters can break at any time before or during labour, and some babies are even born in their membranes!

After birth we do recommend your baby lies against to your skin to allow it to be kept warm and safe as well as allowing you time to meet and greet your baby. Skin to skin can be done at any birth, including caesarean sections, as long as your baby is healthy and well at birth.  The final part of birth is delivery of the placenta; you can birth your placenta yourself, without drugs, which averagely takes between 10mins to an hour. Alternatively you can have an actively managed delivery of the placenta which means separating the cord, giving you a drug and the midwife or doctor assisting the placenta out.

 

Care and Support

During labour and birth we will provide you with support, care and advice. We will also monitor the wellbeing of you and your baby through checking your vital signs and the heartbeat of the baby. We will work in partnership with you to ensure we keep you and your baby as safe as possible. The care and advice we give is based on the best current evidence we have available and we work to standards set both nationally (for example NICE guidelines) and locally.

You can have anyone you wish to be with you during labour, this can be a birth partner, doula, friend or family member. If you choose to give birth in the maternity unit then we ask that you keep to only 2 birthing partners as the facilities limited for them. At home you can have as many or few people as you want.

 

Midwives will provide you with support during your labour. In this Trust we are able to provide one midwife to one woman in labour most of the time which means you should have someone with you for most of your active labour. Midwives will provide emotional support and guidance as well as checking you and your baby’s wellbeing and your progress during your labour. They will check your vital signs and contractions regularly and check the baby’s position in the womb and heart rate during labour. They will also discuss and offer you vaginal (internal) examinations every 4 hours or so to see how your cervix is opening. Clinicians need to get your consent to undertake these examinations so the reason for them will be explained clearly each time.